In 1864, Manhattan had a population of 880,000…a population that came perilously close to death on the evening of 25 November. Six Confederate saboteurs planned to destroy the North's greatest city with a string of 21 separate fires set simultaneously with the goal of engulfing the city in flames. This diabolical terrorist plot was the brainchild of the Confederate Secret Service. They had hoped to target a number of northern cities including Boston, Chicago, and Cincinnati to show how easily the Confederacy could strike at Federal cities. Clint Johnson, author of A Vast and Fiendish Plot, will explore this little-known plan for sabotage on a grand scale, explain its links to Canada, and reveal why the saboteurs ultimately failed. Johnson will also speculate on how the saboteurs could have accomplished what would have been the worst terrorist attack in American history.